Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Okay so I decided to do one big post as my projects were all related. This is what I have played with in my spare minutes this last week. Please note the missing coke can flower - Could not find this anywhere and am suspecting Megs took a fancy to it and its now in her room!This is a poundland blackboard. I masked the edges of the board so I could paint using the dabbers pool and citrus before overstamping in lettuce with the dandelion clock stamp. My plan for this is for it to go to the Stamp Man so folks can see at a glance what classes are coming up next. Here are some close ups.

The Tailors dummy

chipboard letters

and a Utte heart again with the dandelion stamp impression.

and here is my tin. Just a simple decoration for the tin which will sit with the blackboard.

with the Lovin ink business cards so folks know how to get in touch.

The tin is decorated from my scraps box with colours to work with the blackboard. More overstamping with the dandelion clock pulls them both together as well as the colourways.

Now my team mates have been far more inventive than I and we also have the lovely Freya as guest designer again this week. Do stop by here for a look - remember Freya is only 9!

Sunday, 24 April 2011

Hi Folks and a very Happy Easter to you all. I did say I would be back today to share a project but its not quite finished so it will have to wait until tomorrow. I have a had a quiet day today. Tim has driven James back to Uxbridge so it has been very quiet without them. Yesterday I spent the lunch time period with my lovely friend Michelle - we visted Jill and Ian at the Stamp Man and chatted about events coming up then we went to Embsay mills for lunch and Michelle was recognised 3 times!! We met the lovely Diane who is a newbie to our classes which was lovely too. After Lunch we spent an hour chatting and putting the world to rights before heading off home again to our families.I had my bro and family round for tea - nincy nancy tea as my Mum calls them - bits of lots of things and nothing inparticular but always finished off with fresh scones and lemon cheese!Our Megs had done a egg treasure hunt for the Kids so they had lots of clues to follow to collect 20 plastic eggs and ultimately their Giant Kinder egg for Easter. They loved it then after tea we played chinese whispers which was fab - they really embraced the whole game and we had lots of laughs at the outcomes.

Last night I stayed up late talking to the kids. Tim went off to bed early with the long drive ahead today and it just sort of happened. It started with our James telling me he felt quite sad that we didn't travel or go on hols much and he hoped one day we would have the dosh to do whatever we wanted as we deserved it. He expressed concern that as I had got married at 19 and had Tom at 21 I had not had much of a life, Bless him - I reassured him both Tim and I are happy with what we do - we both have interests that make us very happy and that he has no reason to feel that we sacrificed travel etc to bring them up and give them the best we could. Being a parent is the one job in the whole world that it is essential you sink every thing you can into it and thats what we have done. The rewards are having happy healthy young adults that are lovely people to be around - I am very lucky and also very proud. We then spent the next 4 hours yes 4 solid hours talking about families, things that have happened , their memories and life in general and I was captivated listening to them chat with each other and with me about their lives and childhood.We had a very bleak few years in our family between 1993 and 1995 when honestly at times it felt the world was falling to pieces. Tim was made redundant, my dad died followed 9 months later by my brother and lots of other stuff too difficult to tell but the boys were genuinely shocked at stuff that happened that they had no knowledge of - I was very relieved to find out all the protection we had tried to surround them with had indeed worked and the worst thing I did wrong was not allowing the boys to go to my bros funeral - they did go to the memorial the week after but not the funeral. They were 6 and 8 and I really wanted to spare them the anguish of seeing us all in such a state but I accept this may have been wrong.Our Megs listened in to the whole thing as she was the light at the end of the dark tunnel being born in October 1995 - we sank all our hopes in that this was the time things would improve again and they did.All 3 of my kids are such delightful people - I could not be a prouder Mum for the way they have turned out.So staying up till 3-30am has sapped my MoJo - I did plan to craft all day today but I have felt so tired and un motivated its just not happened - not good when I have got 3 commissions, a birthday card and a National Scrapbooking day project to do!!! Lets hope I am flooded with inspiration tomorrow. Still I feel content - My MoJo may be on walkabout but my kids are wonderful xxHope you have had a wonderful day too x Janet

Friday, 22 April 2011

What a super challenge this is! Different ways to resist in your crafting (not resisting chocolate is the first rule lol). So I googled it to see if anything caught my eye and found this site. How fabulous! I love the one with the magazine and brasso - however being brassoless I plumped for a basic resist shown by Tim Holtz in his dvds but there are many more here too.So first of all I embossed the image with clear embossing powder. I think this stamp set is called love letters but this dandelion clock stamp is beautiful don't you think? I have then used adirondack dye inks lettuce and denim first with a brush then with cut and dry foam to get the deeper colour at the edges. Once covered I have ironed off the embossing powder onto scrap paper with my craft iron to reveal these beautiful white images.

A piece of ribbon, a charm and a few pearls and its done. Well this bit anyway - I will be back on Sunday to show you what I have been playing with all week which includes the metal flower from my last post as well as this gorgeous tailors dummy from Tim Holtz alterations range. Of course the Stamp Man challenge is full of inspiration so do stop by for a look here. Some of the DT have also got tutorials on their blogs so its well worth making yourself a cuppa and wandering around the Stamp Man challenge blog and if a little retail therapy takes your fancy this bank holiday then the postage is free over £10 at the Stamp Man shop - what more could you ask for except a trip there in person!

Well here is hoping this schedules ok as I am at work as you read. Yes some of us have to work Bank Holidays you know LOL.I have had a tired and grumpy sort of week so the gratefuls are not as easy to find - im digging rather than plucking you might say! So here goes.1) Family - all my chicks are at home until Sunday - my the fortnight James is home has flown by in a flash. He is itching to get back to London city life and the music scene he loves so much but I will really miss his constant strumming and the empty fridge! tonight we are all managing to sit down and have an Easter meal together - such a rarity as we are all such busy folks with work and life so it will be good to sit, rewind and have some imporatnt family time - I may even suggest a marathon monopoly session as that needs dusting off.2) Cream eggs I have just scoffed one - dont know whose it was but it is no more and mmmmmmmmm dribble.3) crafty chums - Tuesday was the craft session at the local craft shop - lots of folks on hols but still fabby to see them again and stay for a change - a special thanks must go to Glynis for the yummy cake thats now adorning my right hip (I am hoping the cream egg will go the the left to even it up LOL!4) Jo at work for giving me 4 days off in a row Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues - I am very very happy! (or will be at 3pm!)and last but certainly not least no 5 is THE WEATHER! how fantastic is this gorgeous sunshine for lifting the mood and making you smile - Hope its lasts at least till next Friday for Kate and Wills big day!Back soon with another scheduled post if blogger is playing today x have a great day x Janet

Thursday, 21 April 2011

As we come across new crafters so we encourage them to share their makes with blogland - who can fail to be inspired by other folks ideas and creations?So here I am sharing a blog - newly formed from the lovely Alison. Alison attends most of our Stampers club sessions at the Stamp Man where we come with an idea and the ladies use their own stash to run with their own version. This is an excellent way of learning new skills - discovery learning - and also explores their own styles and colours. Each finished piece is individual and the technique is imprinted in their memory as they discovered along the way. Here you can see some of Alisons creations from our sessions and also some she has made at home. It would be lovely if you could stop by and give her some encouragement.

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

How fabulous - crafters love being thrifty and recycling stuff so this was a great choice for Try it on Tuesday. Its actually one of the projects we had lined up for the retreat but ran out of time to do. So here it is a coke can flower.

Carefully cut the base and lid off the coke can (washed first please or you get sticky!) I have then put it through the big shot with the tattered floral die then again with the Swiss dots embossing folder and then alcohol inked them with currant and lettuce - 2 of my fav colours! A bit of bending and shaping then layered them up and added a brad and voila here it is. Now I'm unsure if I should use it on a project as an embellishment or take it a stage further and add lace and leaves to make it into a corsage so I stopped there.

So what do you think - corsage of other project? I will pop it back on later in the week when its been transformed further x

Stop by TIOT where my team mates have gone the whole upcycling hog - gawd I love working with these folks they are soooo creative!

Friday, 15 April 2011

Yes Rockettes I am back again! another Friday moment to post my highs of this last week so here goes!

1) Always always for my family - this week mum is away so Tim and I have responsibilty for my Sis Amy who has Downs Syndrome. I am always hugely grateful to Tim for taking on the massive commitment and responsibility that moving next door to Mum and Amy comes with. Many folks laugh and think he must have been mad to move next door to his Mother in Law but his reasons were not really for my Mum but for giving me peace of mind and knowing how much I take being Amys sister and what that entails absolutely as serious as it gets. Amy is very good - very independant and can manage most of the day without being cared for but something tiny, and I mean miniscule, can rock the boat and send her into panic and that can be the time when you remember Amy has a severe learning difficulty when she is in that frame it can be very hard work. She comes with baggage of support workers, social workers, transport all which one day we may have to deal with ourselves but still he agreed. When I am at work the book stops with him as I can only be a telephone support - but he does it and I am truly grateful. As I keep telling him he is not a star but a constellation! My kids have also taken on extra responsibility with the move - My family is one helluva good one.

2) the second hugely grateful comes with lots of other stuff too so this will be a 2-5 sort of thing!

THE PARTY!

Yesterday we held a surprise reunion for one of the leaders who is retiring, sounds cool and all very nice except she had Forbidden us to hold a party! Jacci has been working at our place for the last 42 years - her whole working life and that is some mean feat these days - shes of a rare breed not found much anymore - Think Hospital matron - rod of iron rule but heart of gold and only the kids best interests at heart. Well we tracked down old colleagues, kids and families and had a really lovely time. She was not happy initially but after seeing old faces she was so fond of and people who had driven miles to be there her heart melted once more - there were tears, laughter and many many hugs. The chap who was our Favourite Manager came and we all told him how fondly we speak of him and that he was the best we ever had - he was so touched at that (ooops current manager overheard me telling Frank that but I wont dwell on it). A wonderful if tiring day which I will remember for a very long time so no 2 is Parties - No 3 Old friends, No 4 The familes that made the effort to help past young folk come back to see us and No 5 Kathy - who should go into the buisness of being a private detective for tracking them all down.

Right off to make chocolate easter eggs and decorations at the Lovin ink class so i shall be gone a while lol and may have chocolate smudges around my mouth when I return! Happy Friday Rockettes do stop by the celtic house for more rockin news this week x

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

The challenge is a colour combo this week of cream, red and black which was perfect for the gift tag I needed to make for a pressie. The papers I have used are 7 Gypsies and I have only just realised I have not used one stamp! How unsual for me that is LOL

Here is a close up. The gorgeous pearl drop trim is available in the Lovin' ink shop and a little goes a long way its beautiful! Tim holtz die for the birdcage and bird and some magnolia flowers to finish off.

This week we are sponsored by our stampin Up Teamie Emma who is offering £15 for goodies from the current catalogue and mini - a brilliant prize. As always my TioT have come up with some amazing tags to share so do stop by for a look x Janet

Sunday, 10 April 2011

Yesterday was the alcohol ink workshop at The Stamp Man which as usual was filled with inky fingers and much hilarity. Our workshops are geared around showing participants techniques - exploring properties of the ink then letting them loose with their own creativity. So we spent the morning building up record cards for their technique books exploring the different surfaces and how the ink reacts on them, controlling the ink and building up depth. Many people buy these products and only use them one or two ways - our workshops are designed to unleash the inner child and give permission to play with abandon, learning techniques and making something to take home - in this case it was a frame, glass votive and a card. One of the most important things we try to build in is that when things go wrong its not a disaster but a learning curve so don't be scared to have a go. We had touched on the ability to control light and dark areas so I made this atc to demonstrate just that - the alcohol ink has been added all over the card - in this case 2 lights - and then a few drops of blending solution have been used to highlight where the face will be when stamped. These are of course stamps by Tim Holtz and this particular set is my newest one. I have also used a metal flower, made with the tattered floral die and a piece of a coke can, coloured it with the same colours then bent it a little for some shape. Mounted onto silver miri card and this is now a RAK for the atc winner over at The Stamp Man ATC swap.

As always the workshop was lots of fun and we always enjoy the company of our fellow crafters - hope to see you at one of our events one day :0)

Friday, 8 April 2011

As this scheduled post goes live I am at the Stamp Man with our lovely Stamping Club ladies making a tea light holder. Debbie Dolphins has been on display in the shop since her article in Februarys Craft Stamper so thats the project they have chosen. I've gone for a totally different look using gorgeous patterned papers by Prima - a fabulous value pad with 48 sheets for £5-25. I've also used the new framies stamps from the Stamp Man - here I have not used the nestabilities as I don't have the right set but this shows you can trim around the edge and get a great result.

Here is the inside - I have used a nestability on the inside and used the bit cut out on the other page.

This is a fab little project and I have no doubt I will be making lots more! Do stop by The Stamp Man challenge for gorgeous inspiration and DT news too - hellos and goodbyes x

I hope you have not fainted at me posting again so soon! Wow what a rollercoaster the week has been - Not sure which way is up at the beginning and on a high at the end. Still I am going to focus on positives so here goes 1) My family as always just because - nothing imparticular just for being there! 2) Crafting - honestly this has been my sanity - whatever did Ido before this obsession came along - ahh I remember lots of binge eating when I was stressed! 3) Ebay - Got myself some large envelopes - not yet arrived mind but am so glad to have found them been searching for 6 months just not in the right place LOL and some stamps too yay! 4) My pal Elaine - who took the craft club last night - very very grateful - will share the card I made to say thanks later as blogger is not allowing me to upload anymore on the post and also Barbara and she knows why :0) big smiles xxx 5) The Weather - the last few days have been bright and sunny - blue sky and that big elusive yellow thing called the sun - excellent mood enhancer xx Off to The Stamp Man today as you will see in my next scheduled post - so a good day planned with some lovely folks x Whats rockin your world this week? join Virginia at the Celtic House where the focus on positives makes for an excellent start to the weekend x Janet

Thursday, 7 April 2011

This is a card I have made for someone on docrafts - its for her daughters 18th - she is busy fund raising to go to Kenya so I knew immediately what to make. This is of course Tilda - on safari me thinks.

and this is Gina the Giraffe from little Claires

papers are lush - by Die cuts with a view and given to me by my lovely pal Kerry. Or should I tell the truth and say Kerry gave the pad to Michelle and I just happened to knick some!!!

Here it is finished. It is a whopper of a card beeing 7 1/2 inches square but I do like it - Size does matter sometimes LOL. Behind Tilda if you can see are some skeleton leaves - these have been in my stash FOREVER but have had a few outings of late - great to be able to use something bought a long time ago. I have also added some buttons - a biggy to the bow topped off with a stampin up sentiment and 3 also the bottom. So I wonder if it fits with any challenges??? I know thats the wrong way round but i just get carried away and forget the challenge requirements so I will have a scout around and see if it does!

Ahhh perfect for Try it on Tuesday! goes lovely with my biscuit dining room! Whoops am on the DT so cant enter LOL

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Whatever possessed me to chose this theme I dont know especially as I only have one room decent in my shack and thats a boring biscuit colour! So i popped into Mums house as her bedroom is a gorgeous colour combo of brown and duck egg blue - So here is my inspiration pic - a pillowcase from Mums bed - I sneaked in whilst she was in the shower so the creases are still there LOL!

Saturday, 2 April 2011

I know I know but I figured better late than never LOL! Its been a busy but very satisfying week so I will crack on with my gratefuls. 1) As always my family - for putting up with my weird ideas - letting me escape to craft and generally being supportive - I'm even less of an easy soul to live with these days as I get deafer and deafer but I am glad they make the effort even if they find it frustrating. 2) I've harped on about it all week but wow! the retreat was awesome and meeting so many excellent experimental crafters was really inspiring - Thanks for being so open to ideas and to sharing your own - that is really special. Thanks also to the rest of my lovin Ink teamies Michelle, Emma and Andy - always great company, inspiring friends and great team mates. 3) Work - for no other reason than I get to work my usual hours instead of full time this month which allows me to catch up with myself a little and have more down time where I can do nothing if I so choose! 4) My pal Linda - for the lovely upbeat emails she sends - always making me smile with the mixture of Scottish and Yorkshire humour - its a gift making folks smile and she has definately got it! 5) Mothers day tomorrow - I am lucky and still have my mum around but I know lots of my pals don't x So I am grateful to be lucky x So soz I am late Virginia but hope its not tooo late x Janet

Friday, 1 April 2011

Isnt this fella a cutie pie? Had another 1-1 with Kerry last Monday where we covered clothing and colour combos for promarkers. I am thrilled with the results and love Kerrys relaxed approach to teaching - it all makes perfect sense now! It does mean I need more promarkers though which is fabby too , perfect excuse to indulge me thinks x

Here is a close up of the cute little Edwin - both my boys had sailor suits when they were small and this kinda reminds me of them. I'm entering this into the Just Magnolia and Hanglar Stanglar challenge which is anything goes .

Im a little worried you may be sick of my Tim holtz stamps by now - All my atcs seem to be formed around the mini collections but they are soooo cool and fit into so many themes. ive used a favourite colour combo here of lettuce and denim adirondack ink - applied with brushes then layered stamping. I found my gold krylon pen last weekend so had to use it - It was buried unde a huge pile of stuff so its been very neglected. hope you are going to play along this month - click on the atc blinky to the right to find out more x Have fun x Janet